1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic circuit having a cascode configuration. More particularly, it relates to an electronic circuit able to operate at a high speed and/or having a wide frequency band.
2. Background Art
Recent technology advances in data processing systems, such as high speed data communication systems, require improved electronic circuits able to process data at a high speed and/or at a wide frequency band. In particular, for example, in an optical-fiber data communication system, a very high speed data transmission of more than 1.6 giga-bits per second (Gbs) has been attempted, to increase a transmission rate to a propagation speed limit of an optical fiber cable which has a very wide frequency range.
To achieve a high speed operation, a wide frequency margin, and a high stability, a variety of considerations such as a careful selection of circuit elements applied to such electronic circuits, a design of a best circuit arrangement, a rejection of adverse effects by, for example, a stray capacitance and a stray inductance, must be taken into account. Various types of electronic circuits have been applied to such high speed data transmission systems, as an interface circuit, a level shift circuit, a discrimination circuit, etc. However, these prior art electronic circuits still do not provide a satisfactory performance. The prior art electronic circuits will be described below with reference to specific examples.